Fruit picking bag



Feb. 10, 1.948.

P. CRONRATH FRUIT PICKING BAG Filed Dec. 10, 1945 .22g-7 NVENTOR.

Patented Feb. 10, 1948 sf fPATENr OFFICE i FRUIT PICKING BAG Paul Cronrath, Spokane, Wash.

Application December 10, 1945, Serial No. 633,971

This invention relates to a fruit pickers bag and it is one object of the invention to provide a device which is so constructed that it may be mounted across the waist of a picker where it will be in such position that fruit may be very easily dropped into the bagas it is picked from a tree.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bagr or receptacle having a frame so formed that a main bag and auxiliary bags may be suspended'therefrom with the main bag directly in front Aof the picker and the auxiliary bags at opposite sidesof the main bag, thus allowing the picker to drop 'fruit of the best grade into the main bag and fruit of a lower grade in the auxiliary bags and thus save time in sorting the fruit after it has beenl picked.

Another object 'of the invention is to provide a fruit receptacle having bags provided with open bottoms normally closed by draw strings which are held under tension to retain the bags closed by engaging rings at ends of the draw strings with hooks carried by a frame from which the bags are suspended. Y

Another object of the invention is to provide a fruit receptacle wherein bags are suspended from a frame provided with harness by means of which the frame isrsuspended across the waist of the picker, the harness having straps for engaging over shoulders of the picker and having their 2 oiaims. (o1. 15o- 2) front ends provided with hooks for engaging a f ring or eye at the upper end of a hook with which a draw string for holding the lower end of one bag closed is detaehably connected.

Another object of the invention is to provide a fruit receptacle including a bag suspended from a frame and provided at its upper top with a fabric strip or sheet Vwhich is wound upon a spring roller and constitutes a yieldable member for supporting fruit dropped into the bag and allowingthe fruit to settle in the bag as weight of the fruit unwinds the fabric strip of sheet from the roller. j i y Another object of the invention is to provide the fruit receptacle wherein bags are carried by a frame, certain of the bags being suspended from end portions of the frame which are detachably mounted upon end portions of the main section of the frame so that other bags may be applied when necessary.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of the improved fruit pickers receptacle.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken vertically along line 2-2 of Figure 1. f'

Fig. 3 is afragmentary sectional view upon an enlarged scaletaken' along the line 3--3 of Fig- Y ure 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a frame from which bags are suspended.

Fig. 5 isa sectional .viewtaken along the line 5 5 of Figure 1.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing an end portion of a modied form of frame, and

Fig. 'l is a view of a modified form of bag show- I ing a zig-zag path for the fruit.

This improved fruit'pickers receptacle has a frameA I formed as shown in Figure 4 and consisting of front and rear bars or strips 2 and 3 between which extend cross bars 4. The bars 0r strips are preferably formed from metal strips and ends ofthe cross bars are bent to form ears 5 which are riveted to the front and rear bars. End portions 6 and 1 of these bars project from the cross bars and these end portions are bent to extendin converging relation to each other and terminate in transversely extending ears 8 and 9 which are spaced from each other as shown in Figure 4.

The frame carries a main bag I0 and auxiliary bags II which are formed of fabric and about their upper` ends the bags are formed with hems providing each bag with a portion I2 about Vits margin to receive the bars forming the frame and permit the bags to be suspended from the frame as shown in Fgures 1 and 2. The bags-are open at their lower ends and in order1 to close the lower ends of the bags there have been provided draw strings I 3 which are threaded through hems I4 about lower ends of the bags. Y strings are drawn upon, the lower ends of the bags will be drawn to a closed position and fruit will be held in the bags until the draw strings are released and the lower ends of the bags allowed to open. Each draw string has a ring I4 at its free end and when these rings are engaged with snap hooks I5 the draw strings will be held When the draw through the space-,defined by the straps I'I and I8 or he may step into this space and draw the fruit holder upwardly until the frame extends across his waist. The straps I8 are then brought' forwardly over his shoulders and the strap ISE; will be disposed in front of him, the snap hooks 2 I at the front ends of the shoulder strapsbeingen gaged with the eye or loop I6.' The strap' I9fhas= loops 22 at its ends through which the straps I1 pass so that after the hooks 2l have been engaged with the eye I6 the strap-I9 may be shifted along tl'ie straps I TI to'a position. causingl the harness '-to t comfortably about the pickers fbo'dy The-rearI barf Slis` padded',` as @shownat 235m. FigureV 5, to prevent lit-from cutting into the lpickers body.'y

When fruit is picked from a tree the pickerv places thef.' best fruit'. in the@ lorrain,l bag. I9 and small fruit or fruit of anzinferio-r gradewill'l be placed! in the auxiliary-bagsi I I.V When the bags are filled it is merely necessary tov detach.l the rings I4'v from fthe'` hooks I 5"andth'e weight-'ofthe fruit will" causelthe lower.` ends`.of.i the bagsto open andthe fruit will pass-.outof Vthe bags into a suitable receptacle orl onto aztableorbenchiover;

whichithe-ifruit:lholderris.disposed;..A

The high gra'deifruit -fini. tlfrezma'inY bag:-sl"iould bei prevented from:becomirigbruised4 when dropped.'

into .thefbag andin' ordento do-soititierehas4 beenl provided astripI of fabric 2 llfwhichv is :wound upon a spring .roller 2o. i Thiszroller is :mounted across oner side ofi the open'y upper endrof 'the' main bag iniclose parallel'relation tofoneof; the crossibars 4 and thetfabric .strip or sheet extends acrossthe bag-fand'V has its outer end securedbyfasteners" When'. fruitis 'placed'l in; the main` bag it.y

261 rests upon'th'e. strip; or` curtainv 24 and; as the' weight of the fruit in the bag increases the strip of fabriewill'be gradually unwound; from. the roller and moved downwardlyr towards the' bottom ofthe-bag, as'in'dicatedby dotted lines vin Figure 2.-' Therefore thefruit'will'not dropiin the' bag a-sui'icient` distance'. toV cause itv to` be bruised,

when picked' from a treeand deposited inthev bag. Whenv th'ef draw. string 'forthe main bag is released-fv andthe bottom of the" bagy allowedl to openvthe fruit'in the bag Will'roll'from opposite sideedges of'th'e curtain and out: ofv the open bottom-Juf' thebag. Thefvspring' roller will then rewind the curtain` onto `the roller-*andv return the curtain tov the position shown: infull lines in Figure2.

Insteadr of 'forming theA frame as* shown in Figurei4- it'm-ay beformedA as shown in Figure 6;

In this embodiment of f the inventionxthe frame` has faimain .section ,Z'i whichis oblong andishaped" tolconformtoitheportionfof frame Ifbetween the crossrbarsl: This'frame 21h-as front andv rear bars 281-and129fandiat 4eachl end hasv anY end bar 30?, Instead; of :providing: front and-rear bars oiathe frame Z'Iiwith portions'projectingrfromits cross; bars there have. been provided. auxiliary frames, one of which is shown in Figure 6. This auxiliary frame 3| is formed from a, strip of metal bent to form a bridge 32 having arms 33 projecting therefrom. The arms 33 extend from the bridge in converging relation to each other and their outer ends are bent inwardly to form tongues or fingers 34 corresponding to the fingers 8 and 9. Tongues project from the upper edge of the bridge 32 and these tongues are bent to formrhooksf forvengagingfover theend'fbar 30 of the frame 21 and support' the auxiliary frame from the end bar of the main frame. In view ofthe fact that the auxiliary frames are formed separate'from the main frame a manufacturer may make auxiliary frames of different sizes and selectivelyV apply them to the main frame.

The bag-36 shown in the modied form of Fig. 7 is provided with strips of canvas 31 set at an angle to'guide the fruit by a zig-zag ro-ute to the lower portion of the bag. When placing the fruit into the bag it contacts the strips B'I'breaking the fall and thus protecting thefruit from bruising;

Having thus described' the* invention; whatiisz claimedris:

1. .Al fruitl piekers` receptaclecomprising a-A frame` having front land rearbars and crossibars the fro-nt and rear bars having end portions pro:- jecting;A from the cross bars4 and: bent inwardly toward each other atV their ends,y aman bag` carried byl said framef between-A the: cross bars,v

additional bagsf carried byY said frame betweenl the crossbars and ends of; the front .and-rear bars. and suspendedtherefrom at Yopposite ,sides ,ofi the1 main bag, andvmeans for supportingsaidframe in Vfront ,.of. a, person ataapproximately. the, waistI line. Y

2. A fruit pickers receptacle, comprising a.

opposite sides of the main bag,1a support, carried.. by said frame, a spring roller mounted across one, end of the main portion of, said` frame, and a sheet wound 'upon said roller andextending across the top of the main bag and being rfree alongits side edges Vand secured at its distant end to the frame and being adapted-to" be unwound from the roller and moved downwardlyvinI the bag by weight of fruit deposited upon the sheet between' its attached end and the roller.

PAULv CRONRATH.

REFERENCES' CITED? Thefollowingreferences are ofrecord in the file of, this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 444,884 Howell Jan. 20, 1891 929,209 Grant July 27, 1909 1,085,887 Yeates Feb. 3, 1914A 1,383,956 Kiely et al July 5, 1921 1,459,599 Minor June19, 1923 1,797,097 May Mar; 17, 1931 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country DateYV 25,300 Australia; .Nov.` 10,1936. 

